City officials will ask former Cincinnati City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld to repay his salary and benefits from 2020 and 2021, valued at roughly $71,500, after a jury found him guilty of bribery and attempted extortion last week.
State law allowed Sittenfeld, whom the FBI arrested in November 2020 on six charges of public corruption, to collect his full salary and benefits for more than a year until his council term expired on Jan. 4, 2022.
Now that he has been convicted, the city will be moving to recoup that compensation. Solicitor Andrew Garth said city officials will send a letter to Sittenfeld within a few weeks asking for reimbursement once they calculate the exact amount he owes.
“Appropriate city officials will notify Mr. Sittenfeld of the statutory repayment requirement as they would for any other debt owed to the city. The city solicitor would only file a civil action if a court’s involvement were to become necessary to recover the amount owed,” according to a city spokesman.
